Laborup, an AI recruiting startup focused on America’s manufacturing workforce, has raised a total of $7.7 million, including a $5.8 million seed round led by NVP. The company is building “agentic recruiting” infrastructure with voice-first AI screening, skills verification, and factory-specific hiring models to address the severe industrial labor shortage. Targeting the South and Midwest, Laborup partners with trade schools and veterans’ programs to grow a verified talent pool of machinists, welders, and technicians. Its platform claims to deliver workers 5–10x faster, at 70% lower cost, and with double the retention compared to legacy staffing models.

Laborup, a U.S.-based startup focused on AI-driven recruiting for industrial and manufacturing roles, announced that it has raised a total of $7.7 million in funding. The new $5.8 million seed round, led by NVP, adds to the $1.9 million pre-seed raised last year, bringing total funding to $7.7 million. Participating investors include Torch Capital, Threshold, Heartland VC, and well-known angel investors such as Jeff Dean, James Slavet, and Evan Moore.

The company, founded by Simba Jonga, is developing what it calls “agentic recruiting” technology, designed to streamline the hiring process for skilled trades in sectors such as aerospace, nuclear energy, automotive, and advanced manufacturing. Its platform integrates voice-first screening, skills and credential verification, factory-specific hiring models, and constraint-aware matching. By feeding real-world outcomes — such as show-up rates, first-90-day performance, and long-term retention — back into the system, Laborup aims to continuously improve hiring accuracy.

The startup positions itself at the intersection of industrial workforce demand and AI innovation. According to Laborup, teams using its system are able to hire five to ten times faster, cut costs by around 70%, and achieve double the retention compared to legacy staffing methods.

Laborup plans to use the funding to expand across the U.S. South and Midwest, regions with dense manufacturing activity, while also deepening partnerships with trade schools and veterans’ programs to build a verified pipeline of machinists, welders, and technicians.

Founder and CEO Jonga emphasized the urgency of the problem, noting that the industrial worker shortage poses not only an economic challenge but also a potential national security risk. Projections indicate that millions of manufacturing jobs could remain unfilled by 2030 if the talent gap persists.

With reshoring trends driving new factory activity, Laborup’s approach reflects a broader movement to modernize hiring practices in sectors critical to U.S. competitiveness. The company joins a wave of startups attempting to merge Silicon Valley technology with industrial labor needs, targeting efficiency gains in one of the economy’s most labor-constrained segments.